Bottom dump sling and container for laundry extractors



A. MILLER Sept. 15, 1959 BOTTOM DUMP SLING AND CONTAINER FOR LAUNDRY EXTRACTORS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 9, 1958 INVENTOR.

ABE MILLER Qusm w 5% ATTORNEYS A. MILLER Sept. 15, 1959 BOTTOM DUMP SLING AND CONTAINER FOR LAUNDRY EXTRACTORS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 9, 1958 V INVENTOR.

' ABE MILLER BY ATTORNEYS A. MILLER Sept. 15, 1959 BOTTOM DUMP SLING AND CONTAINER FOR LAUNDRY EXTRACTORS Filed June 9, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

BY ABE MILLER Maw 6 W ATTORNEYS BOTTOM DUMP SLING AND CONTAINER FOR LAUNDRY EXTRACTORS Abe Miller, Detroit, Mich, assign'or to Miller Laundry Machinery Company, Detroit, Mich.

Application June 9,1958, Serial No. 740,761

1 Claim. or. 210-231 This application relates to slings and containers for laundries used in extractors and aims particularly to pro-.

extractors characterized by certain novel features the principal one of which is that it is top loading and bottom dumping.

Other features of improvement are disclosed herein in connection with a disclosure of preferred embodiments of the sling and container hereof, the same being described in the specification that follows and which refers to the appended drawings.

In these drawings: Fig. 1 is an elevation view of a preferred form of th sling and container per se; shown in bottom dumping position;

Fig. 2 is a transverse section view of the device of Fig. 1 but with the parts in top loading position;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view as if looking down on Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a transverse section view showing the sling and container of Fig. 1 incorporated within a loading and transporting basket;

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view showing the container of Fig. l incorporated in an extractor;

Fig. 6 is a transverse section view of a modification;-

Fig. 7 is a similar view of another modification;

Fig. 8 is a view showing the sling of Fig. 7 with an upper portion as well as the depending skirt portion being folded over; as for example, when the device is used in an extractor, for completely enclosing the laundry.

In the drawings, Figs. 1-3 show a sling and container device It) for receiving laundry L loaded into the device from above it through its open top 11 with the device being useful, as will later be understood, as a sling for transporting laundry within the device to and from an extractor 12 (Fig. 5) and for holding the laundry in the extractor. The latter is of conventional form, as for example that shown in a patent No. 2,534,286 of December 19, 1950, and is mounted to have a vertical axis 13 and having, as is common with extractors, a bottom 14, a cylindrical wall 15 and an open top 16 normally closed when the extractor is in use by a cover 18 having lifting eyes 19. The extractor contains a foraminous rotor 20 also having a bottom 21, a cylindrical wall 22, and an open top 24. Both the extractor 12 and its rotor 20 are formed for mutual driving cooperation. Thus, the extractor has a drive shaft or pedestal 28 in the form of a frustoconical portion projecting up from its bottom and disposed within the frustoconical drive socket 30 of the rotor. The pedestal 28 drives or rotates the rotor on axis 13 within the extractor in accordance with conven tional practice, and drive for shaft 28 is provided by a motor 31 which is connected by a belt 32 to the drive shaft or pedestal 28. This is all conventional and is shown in said Patent 2,534,286.

Whereas said Patent 2,534,286 suggests the use of semi- 2,904,183 Patented Sept. 15, 1959 baskets to be loaded with wet laundry therein into the extractor rotor, I prefer to use the sling and container which I now will describe in detail.

- The sling and container device hereof (Figs. 1-3) comprises a cylindrical body portion 33 of substantially the height and diameter of the extractor rotor 20 with which it is to be used and has a depending skirt portion 34 of flexible material, preferably a fabric, whose upper edge, illustrated diagrammatically by the dotted line 35,

coincides with and is secured to the lower edge of the body portion 32 also illustrated diagrammatically by the dotted line 35. Body portion 33 and skirt portion 34 may be and preferably are integral or may be made of separate elements secured to each other at the intersecting line 35. Substantial flexibility is required for the material of the skirt portion 34, as will soon be apparent.

Fig. 1 shows the skirt portion 34 as comprising a plurality of flaps 38 of flexible material, such as fabric, whose upper edges form the upper edge of the skirt portion. The flaps are separate spaced segments which are arranged side by side around the lower edge of the body portion and depend from it. These flaps are of a length measured down from the line 35 considerably greater. than the ,height of the body portion measured up from the line 35, and depend from the body portion in a normal or unloading position for bottom dumping, as

- shown in Fig. 1.

In a loading position, the device of Fig. l is disposed within a loading and transporting basket 42 (Fig. 4) mounted on rollers 44 and having a bottom 45 and a cylindrical sidewall 46 and a frustoconical upwardly projecting portion 48 I When the device of Fig. 1 is inserted in a basket 42, it is arranged as shown in Fig. 4 with the body portion 33 adjacent the side wall 46 of the basket, and with the flaps 38 arranged to extend horizontally inwardly from the body portion 32 on the bottorn.45 of the loading basket to near the central vertical axis. 13 of the basket and then centrally gathered and turned upwardly, overlying the conical projection 48 from the bottom 45 to a central point 49 alined with the basket axis, but well above the upper edge of the body portion substantially as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4, with the free ends of the flaps 38 meeting at such central point .49.

These free ends have means such as holes 52 reinforced by grommets for detachably interlocking when the flaps are gathered with acentrally positioned gathering and sling hook means 54when the flaps 38 are in the position of Fig. 4 as shown in dotted lines.

The upper edge of the body portion 10 also has peripherally spaced means in the form of holes 56 lined with grommets for detachably interlocking with sling hook means shown as a plurality of spaced sling hooks 58.

The use of the device-of Fig. 1 will now be described. The device, of Fig. l is first positioned in a loading basket as shown in Fig. 4, but with. body portion 33 not.

connected to sling-hooks 58 and with the flaps 38 not connected to sling hook 54 but rather folded over to lie on top of the trus'toconical projection 48 as shown in full lines. Laundry L is then dumped into the basket to the desired level, and this completes the loading operation.

Then, by means of the sling books 54 and 58 now interlocked with the holes 52 of the gathered and upwardly extended flaps 38, and the holes 56 of the upper edge of the body portion 10, the sling with the laundry therein is lifted out of the basket 42 with the flaps at that time being in the dotted line position of Fig. 4, and is then moved down into an extractor rotor 20 positioned in an extractor 12, and then the sling hooks 5458 are removed from the sling and this completes the movement of the sling and laundry into the extractor.

With loading completed, then the flaps 38 are. released from hook 54 and turned outwardly, and laid on top of the laundry L (dotted lines) and this completes the preparation of the sling forextraction.

When extraction is completed, the flaps 38' areaga'ur gathered centrally and the. sling. hooks 54 and. 5& are once more engaged with the appropriate parts 52 and 56 of the sling with the flaps 38 at that time beingin the gathered dotted line position shown in Fig. 5 and then the sling and the clothes are lifted out of the extractor (Fig. 2) to the dumping station.

In such dumping statiomthe sling hook 54 isv released from the holes 52 of the flaps 3-8 and these flaps then drop down as shown in Fig. l for bottom dumping of the laundry.

Then when the sling has been=emptied of laundry,

the flaps 38 are once more drawnup into the interior of the body portion andup through it as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 and once more the holes 52 of the flaps 38 are engaged with the sling hook 54 and this makes the sling ready to be moved by hooks 54-58 to a loading basket as shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. I shows the inclusion in the device of a framing and reinforcing hoop 60 at the upper edge of the body portion 33 for rigidifying and reinforcing such upper edge, particularly at the points of provision of theholes- 56 for the slinghooks 58. If desired, a framing or reinforcing hoop may also be included inthe device at the line 35 defining the lower edge of the body portion and the upper edge of the skirt portion.

Fig. 6 shows the inclusion of an annular cover portion 62 at the upper edge of the body portion of the device. Cover 62 may be of fabric or of rigid-material such as metal or a plastic; The annular cover portion has its outer edge 63 secured to'the upper edge of the body portion. The center hole 64 ofthe. annular cover may, if desired, be reinforced by aframing or reinforcing ring.

Through such center hole, the. ends of the flaps 38 maybe extended upwardly when these flaps 3'8'are moved into the dotted line position shown in Fig. 4. The annular cover portion 62 holds down the laundry L in the sling and container, particularly during extraction. The laundry is. passed into the interior of the sling from above through the center hole 64.

Fig. 7 shows the annular cover portion made up of a plurality of separate spaced segments or flaps 66 as contrasted from the solid ring form of cover as. shown' at 62 inFig. 6. When the cover is made of segments 66 as shown in Fig. 7, these segments may be folded over.

as shown in Fig. 8 for completely enclosing and holding down the laundry, particularly useful during extraction. Flaps 38 will overlie flaps. 66 and both enclose, the laundryL Whereas, in all the forms heretofore illustrated, the depending skirt 34 is made of separate spaced flaps 38 it is. obvious that it may be made of a continuous nonsegmented skirt form which, if of suitablefiexible material, can be folded inwardly and then upwardly into the full and dotted line positions of Fig. 4' in substantially the same way as it is accomplished. when the skirt is made of separate spaced segments of flaps. Whether the skirt is made of flaps 38 as shown in Fig. 1 or in the form of a non-segmented solid skirt as not here illustrated, it is intended that the lower edge of such skirt be provided with a plurality of peripherally spaced holes 52 all of which are simultaneously interlocked with the center sling hook 54 when the flaps 38 are gathered whereas the 1 several peripherally spaced holes 56 at the upper edge ments of bottom dumping slings and containers herein disclosed, reference should be had to the claim which follows.

I claim:

A sling and container device for receiving laundry loadect into the device from above and for transporting said laundry to and from and for holding same in an extractor rotating on a vertical axis and having a bottom, a cylindrical wall, and an open top, and for dumping said laundry out of and down from the device: said device comprising a cylindrical body portion of substantially the height and diameter of the extractor with which it is to be used, and a skirt portion comprising a plurality of spaced flaps of flexible material having their upper edges coinciding with and secured to the lower edge of the body portion, the flaps being side by side around the lower edges of the body portion, the flaps depending from the body portion and being of a length considerably greater" than the heighth of the body portion whereby they may 7 be moved from their normal or unloading position, de-

pending fromthe body portion, to a loading position where they extend horizontally inwardly from the body portion to form a sling bottom, on the bottom of the extractor, to near the axis of the extractor, and then gathered and turned upwardly from the bottom of the extractor to a central gathering point aligned with the extractor axis but well above the upper edge of the body portion to form an inner wall wherein laundry may be contained between the body and the inner wall and on top of the sling bottom, the lower or free ends of the flaps each having means for detachably interlocking it with a central gathering axially arranged sling hook means when the fiaps are turned from the body portion and then up from the extractor bottom and gathered into loading position, the upper edge of the body portion having several peripherally spaced means for detachably interlocking it at a number of points thereof with a sling hook means at the upper edge of the body portion, and the flaps also beingof sufiicient length to be folded from their inner wall forming portions to the body portion over the top of the laundry contained in the sling to form a cover therefor.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 598,296 Snyder et a1. Feb. 1, 1898 2,038,993 Erlanger Apr. 28, 1936 2,285,547 Whelan June 9, 1942 

